I know that you southerners think that August is the middle of the summer, and time for holidays, but up here in Scotland the long summer days with only a glimmer of darkness at night have now passed. My fishing at midnight has ceased since there is no longer enough light at 10pm to tie new flies onto my cast. My fishing companions, the ospreys will soon be gone - the females have already headed for Africa, and the others will soon follow. And the grandchildren will be back to school in a week's time. But what a summer it has been! OK - the meconopsis didn't like the temperature and the drought, but they don't usually have to worry about either. I think I could get used to this (possibly) Global warming.

Yes once every few years this sort of summer is a delight, I remember tramping across the Cairngorms/ Monadhliath mountains in a hot dry summer and seeing the red deer walk into lakes and tarns to cool of, such weather is also mercifully midge free, but burned over moors and forests are not so pleasant which is what will undoubtedly happen if such summers become commonplace.

colin wrote:Yes once every few years this sort of summer is a delight, I remember tramping across the Cairngorms/ Monadhliath mountains in a hot dry summer and seeing the red deer walk into lakes and tarns to cool of, such weather is also mercifully midge free, but burned over moors and forests are not so pleasant which is what will undoubtedly happen if such summers become commonplace.

This summer, up near the Kylesku bridge we were amused to see a group of red deer crowded on top of a small mound, trying to get the most of a slight cooling breeze. And the midges made no appearances, although the ticks were a menace.

Apparently midges are just too small to hold much in the way of moisture , in hot dry weather they skulk around in shady parts of damp vegetation to avoid dehydration, that's why mosquitoes are more common in hot dry countries they only need some standing water to breed in.